Steel-jaw leghold traps, widely criticized for being indiscriminate and inhumane, are presently prohibited or significantly restricted in the majority of countries around the world-but not the United States. According to research released today by the Library of Congress, more than 100 countries prohibit or impose stringent limits on the use of these and other body-gripping traps. Most ban their use outright. Many also prohibit the import, sale, and/or possession of such traps.
“We welcome this important new research, because it provides clear evidence that the United States is far behind the rest of the world when it comes to legal restrictions on these cruel and nonselective traps,” said Cathy Liss, president of the Animal Welfare Institute.
Read the article from the Animal Welfare Institute.